Communion-service tray.



W. S. HARPSTER.

COMMUNION SERVICE TRAY.

APPLICATION FILED APR.19, 1911. RENEWED EEE. 5, 1914.

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WILLIAM S. HARPSTER, 0F COLUMBUS, OHIO, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS,TO CLARENCE A. HILL, 0F COLUMBUS, OHIO.

COMMUNION-SERVICE TRAY.

Application filed April 19, 1911, Serial No. 621,986.

1/ b all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM S. I-Lmrsrnn, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Columbus, in the county of Franklin and State ofOhio, have invented a certain new and useful improvement in Communion-Service Trays, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide an improved tray for holdingindividual communion service glasses.

More particularly it is my object to prevent the staining and smearingof the tray or its parts by spilt or overflowing wine and at the sametime prevent noise in the handling ot' the glasses.

The invention is embodied in the features shown in the accompanyingdrawings, set forth in the following description and then pointed out inthe claims.

In the accompanying drawing-Figure l is a top plan view of a portion ofthe tray. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the tray with the middleportion broken out.

A tray for holding the individual service glasses very commonlycomprises a pan 3 having an annular shoulder 4 to receive a glassholder, the latter consisting of a plain metal disk having a suitablenumber of glass receiving openings provided with cushioned sides or padsto prevent noise. In the present invention as shown the glassholdercomprises principally two metal disks 5 and 6 of equal size andlike form to rest together on the shoulder a said disks being providedwith vertically coinciding glass admitting apertures of considerablylarger diameter than the diameter of the lower portion of the glass, anda disk of card board 7 and a disk of blotting or absorbent paper 8 alsoprovided with apertures but of smaller diameter than that of theapertures in the metal sheets said sheets-of car board and absorbentpaper being placed together and between the metal disks so that theirapertures aline axially. By this construction there is left projectingin the opening or the metal sheets a ring of absorbent paper and cardboard. The a, lertures in the card board and absorbent paper are made ofsuch size that a glass of slightly tapering form can Specification ofLetters Patent.

Patented Sept, 8, 1914.

Renewed February 5, 1914. Serial No. 816,841.

be placed and supported therein without the sides of the glass touchingthe adjacent edges of the metal disk as illustrated in Fig. 2. The fourdisks just described are bound together by several screws, such as seenat 9, engaging the two metal disks. The absorbent paper takes up winethat may have been left adhering to the sides of the glasses therebypreventing it from smearing the tray or the metal disks. Excess ofoverflowing wine is absorbed by the absorbent paper even by that whichlies between the solid metal parts of the disks. Absorbent paper, whichis more commonly known as blotting paper when dry is brittle and whenmoistened becomes soft and pliable hence I employ the card board tobrace such paper where it projects beyond the metal part of the holder.When the absorbent paper becomes so far saturated as to be no longerserviceable it, as well as the card board if desired, can be replacedwith a fresh one.

What I claim is:

1. In an individual communion service tray, a glass holder including incombination a metal sheet provided with an aperture, a sheet ofabsorbent paper backed by a sheet of non-absorbent stiff paper, saidabsorbent sheet being located between said metal sheet and thenon-absorbent sheet, said absorbent and non-absorbent sheets providedwith apertures of smaller diameter than that of the metal sheet andall'of said apertures coinciding vertically, and means for holding saidsheets together, substantially as described.

2. In an individual communion service tray, a glass holder including tWofiat metallic sheets provided with coinciding apertures, combined With'asheet of absorbent paper, and a sheet of stifi non-absorbent paper, saidpaper sheets provided with glass receiving apertures coinciding witheach other and with the apertures of the metallic sheets but of smallerdiameter than the apertures of the metallic sheets, and means forholding said sheets together.

WILLIAM S. HARPSTER. l/Vitnesses:

BENJAMIN FINCKEL, MAYME Foam).

